


Breaking

by Gabberwocky



Series: Marinette Detests Gabriel Agreste [9]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, I'm so sorry, Mild Cursing, my babes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 07:18:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6319855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabberwocky/pseuds/Gabberwocky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battle with Hawkmoth comes to a head...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after "Wounds" and before "Pregnancy"

Chat Noir- no,  _ Adrien _ \- looked up at the imposing figure before him. Even with the mask, he felt exposed, insecure. He still wasn’t even sure how he got here; all he remembered was a scream (His? Ladybug’s?), falling, then black. 

How had he survived? No, that didn’t matter. 

How did he get here? No, that didn’t matter either.

Why is he still Chat? That, that matters. 

Where is he? That also matters. A lot. 

Hawkmoth kneeled down in front of the frightened- and he doesn’t use that term lightly- Chat Noir. 

“It just had to be you, didn’t it?” he said as he ran a hand through Chat’s hair. 

The blond black cat flinched back, unable to do much else with his hands bound.

“What do you mean?” Chat asked, gazing up at the man who caused both he and Ladybug so much grief. 

Hawkmoth said nothing, simply got up and went back to the window, gazing out over Paris. 

“How long do you think it will take for your lady to get here, Chat Noir? Your Ladybug? Do you even think she will? Hmmm?” 

Chat glared at the villain, remaining silent as they waited. For what, Chat wasn’t sure. He trusted his lady to come get him, but how would she find him?

That was answered by a dull thud on the roof as a black butterfly flew back into the room, a figure in red coming in a moment later. 

“Chat!” she exclaimed, running through the dark room to where her partner lay bound, illuminated and framed by the window’s ornate shadow. 

“My Lady, it’s a-”

“A trap, I know, but did you really expect me to leave you here? I couldn’t do that to you.” 

The window shut like a camera’s shutter, keeping all light out of the small room, save a small glow from a single incandescent light.

“And so the Ladybug is trapped by the Butterfly.” came a voice from the corner, causing Ladybug to crouch protectively over Chat Noir. 

“Hawkmoth.” The ravenette couldn’t believe it. Years, it had taken, to find this man who had been terrorizing Paris- and the two heros hadn’t even really found him. He had found them.

“Your Miraculous, Ladybug.” Hawkmoth said.

“Never.” Ladybug spit back at him.

The older man smirked and banged his cane on the ground, causing butterflies to swarm around Paris’s favorite duo. When they cleared, Chat Noir had been swept away with them and was bound next to Hawkmoth. 

“Don’t touch him!” Ladybug all but screamed, lurching forward to get to her partner when the butterflies swarmed up again, cutting off her view of Chat. 

“Chat! CHAT!”

“I’m ok, My Lady! I’m-” his sentence was cut off by a scream as he was flung forward onto the ground by the man beside him. 

The butterflies cleared.

Hawkmoth bent down to Chat Noir’s level. 

“Now, you give me your miraculous…” he pulled the ring from Chat’s-  _ Adrien’s _ \- finger. “Or we see how many lives this little kitty-cat has.”

As the ring was removed, Plagg fell out of it, landing by Adrien’s bound wrists and remaining motionless, seemingly unconscious. 

“Plagg? Plagg?!” Adrien scrambled for a sound from his small (if irritating) friend. Plagg inconspicuously brushed across Adrien’s finger, the blond calming and looking at a torn Ladybug- or was it _ Marinette _ ? He’d never seen such a look of sorrow and desperation and  _ vulnerability  _ on Ladybug’s face before.

“Adrien, I-” she started.

“Don’t do it, my Lady. Don’t. For us. For Paris. You  _ can’t _ ”

“I can’t lose you, kitty.”

Adrien smirked as he felt the bonds on his wrist loosen. “You won’t.”

“She will.” Hawkmoth interrupted, suddenly kicking Adrien towards a previously invisible circle in the ground. 

Just as his foot made contact with Adrien’s side, the blond grabbed it and swung, his feet connecting with Hawkmoth’s knees at the other was brought crashing down, Chat Noir’s ring flying free of his hand and into Ladybug’s.

“No! How…?”

Adrien smirked as Plagg flew up to his shoulder. “A Black Cat’s luck.”

Ladybug walked up and handed the ring back to Adrien. “It’s over, Hawkmoth.” she said as she took the miraculous brooch from the fallen villain, a purple moth-like Kawmi falling out of it.

Adrien’s knees hit the floor as the transformation faded. “No… It can’t be…”

Ladybug turned to him as he went down. “Adrien, Adrien, look at me. It’s ok, it’s going to be ok…” 

It was no use, Adrien’s breathing picked up until he was hyperventilating and Ladybug wasn’t helping. Ignoring the hiccups and groaning of the man behind her, Ladybug released her transformation. 

“Marinette…” Adrien gasped, falling into the ravenette’s open arms. 

“Shhh, it’s ok, Adrien. It’ll be ok. I promise.”

“I need them!” came an anguished shout from behind Marinette.

She immediately spun, keeping herself between Hawkmoth-  _ Gabriel Agreste-  _ and his son. His  _ son,  _ whom he had not only captured and bound, but threatened to kill. And all over jewelry. (Magical jewelry, yes, but in the grand scheme of things, just jewelry.)

Marinette shook with anger as Tikki flew towards her, waiting for the command to enter the earrings. It never came. 

Marinette stalked towards Gabriel Agreste with an expression reminiscent of a mother bear or a wolf protecting its pack. Eyes narrowed, lips curled, teeth bared as the older man scrambled back. He wasn’t fast enough as Marinette’s fist connected with his face.

“How dare you!” she exclaimed. “HOW DARE YOU! You attack your SON, your own damn SON!” Each word was punctuated by either a punch or a slap, and by the end of it, Gabriel’s nose was broken and the man had at least one black eye. Marinette’s shirt was streaked with the fashion designer’s blood. 

“They… they could bring her back…” Gabriel said, curling in on himself as red and blue flashing lights could be seen through the- now open- window. 

“Tikki, transform me.” Ladybug turned to a still shell-shocked Adrien. 

“Adrien. Honey, look at me. You need to transform. Just to get home, then you can stay Adrien, ok?”

Adrien nodded and held his ring towards Plagg, unable to say the words. Plagg got the idea and Ladybug stood to help Chat Noir out of the deplorable building. 

The press had enough sense to leave the duo alone as they walked off towards the bakery. 

 

That night saw Adrien, tear tracks still visible on his cheeks, curled up on Marinette’s bed, head in her lap as they slept, the two Kwami asleep on the blond’s side. It was weeks before Adrien could even fake a smile and months before that smile reached his eyes. 

  
Finally, on year later, Marinette heard his beautiful laugh again. Her broken boy was healing.  


End file.
